


Playing Tricks On You

by Moonscar



Series: The Wind Blows In Different Directions [1]
Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: Abusive Relationship is Moceit, Abusive Relationships, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Bittersweet Ending, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Hurt/Comfort, Injury, Lies, M/M, Mild Fluff, Not Logicality, So apologies for any mix-ups!, i just really needed an antagonist, i thought it was clear but clearly not, lying, no hate for moceit, not the Logan/Patton one don't worry, someone got mad at me for not being clear enough sooooo
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-26
Updated: 2019-08-26
Packaged: 2020-09-27 11:09:24
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,745
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20406739
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Moonscar/pseuds/Moonscar
Summary: There was a loud thud from the apartment above his, then crying.Logan jumped slightly glanced up from the book he was reading, looking up towards the ceiling with furrowed brows. Recently, the apartment above his had been having frequent sounds of crying. He'd never bothered to check, always telling himself that it was none of his business. Anyways, it wasn't like he thought anything bad was happening. There was never screaming and loud bangs that wound suggest a gun, simply crying.He had no right to intrude on their business.That's what he told himself, despite the worry that clutched at his chest every single time he heard the sobs and cries.





	Playing Tricks On You

There was a loud thud from the apartment above his, then crying.

Logan jumped slightly glanced up from the book he was reading, looking up towards the ceiling with furrowed brows. Recently, the apartment above his had been having frequent sounds of crying. He'd never bothered to check, always telling himself that it was none of his business. Anyways, it wasn't like he thought anything bad was happening. There was never screaming and loud bangs that wound suggest a gun, simply crying.

He had no right to intrude on their business. 

That's what he told himself, despite the worry that clutched at his chest every single time he heard the sobs and cries. 

He glanced back down at the book on his lap, fully intending to go back to his reading. That was until he heard glass shattering on the wall in the apartment above his, and the crying only seemed to intensify. Logan let out a sigh and leaned forward, grabbing his bookmark from the coffee table in front of the couch and swiftly placing it inside the book before closing it. He placed the book on the table gently and stood up.

"This is getting ridiculous" He said out loud to himself as he made his way towards the front door of his apartment. From there, he pulled on some shoes and grabbed at his keys, gently patting his phone in case the person above was someone dangerous. He'd never bothered to get to know them, especially since they lived a floor above his.

So that's how he found himself in the elevator, wondering why he hadn't taken the stairs because logically, it would've been much faster to get to the apartment. He was probably just procrastinating the inevitable. Finally, after a couple of seconds, the elevator doors opened and he stepped out, feeling relief at the fact that no one had been needing to use the elevator. He chanced a quick glance at the door numbers, doing quick math to know which door number he was looking for. Then, he turned to his right as started walking down the hallway, sparing a quick glance at every door on each side. 

Finally, he found the door with the correct number and he paused, standing in front of it. He hesitated only for a moment before straightening his posture and wracking his knuckles on the wood. He then folded both of his hands behind his back, staring forward as he waited for an answer. He really didn't know what to expect, or why he'd even come up here. Was it out of mere curiosity? Then, just as he was figuring out what to say, the door opened.

"Yes?" Came a shy voice, and Logan fell speechless. In front of him was someone bout three to four inches shorter than him, their hair a light brown and slightly curly. They wore glasses similar to Logan's, the frames a bit larger. Their eyes shone a pale blue, their eyes rimmed red and cheeks flushed, seemingly from the crying. Their pale skin helped make their freckles more noticeable. They wore a large, soft sweater and a scarf wrapped loosely around their neck, a blanket hanging off their figure. Logan fidgeted for a moment, straightening his tie before folding his hands together once more.

"Hello, I'm Logan. It's nice to make your acquaintance. I live in the apartment below yours and I've been hearing a lot of activity in this room. Would you mind explaining what's going on? I heard glass shattering, are you hurt? " Logan inquired, trying to remain as polite as possible.

"O-oh! I'm Patton! It's nice to meet you!" Patton said, smiling nervously at him and chancing a glance behind them before looking back at him "I'm so sorry though, but there must be a mistake. We haven't been making any noise. Maybe it was something else? It could have been the wind playing tricks on you, or a stray cat!" They said, seeming to try and show a calm exterior, even though their shoulders were tense and their hands were lightly shaking. Logan thought of mentioning this, but quickly stopped himself. He should respect boundaries, this person clearly doesn't want him meddling in their affairs and he can respect that. It isn't like it was any of his business in the first place.

"I see, I'm sorry for the inconvenience then" Logan said, bowing his head slightly. Patton waved their hand dismissively, smiling at him.

"It's fine! Thanks for worrying about me, but really, I'm fine. As I said, it was probably just the wind or some wild animal playing tricks on you, since I didn't hear anything. Anyways! I really have to go back in though, I've got some work to do" He said, smiling at Logan kindly. 

"Of course, if you ever need me, I'm in the apartment 413" He said, careful to keep a blank expression as he spoke to not give away anything. Patton nodded enthusiastically.

"Okay! Same to you Logan!" Patton said and grinned at him before nodding his goodbye's, closing the door, leaving Logan standing in the hallway alone. Logan stood there for a moment, not moving from his position as he thought back on the conversation he'd just had with Patton. 

Why had they been lying to him? He knows for a fact that the noise had come from this apartment, and yet Patton was adamant on the fact it was something else that created the sound.

Logan shook his head and forced himself to step away from the door after a moment, starting to walk towards the staircase that would lead back down to the floor below.

It doesn't matter anyway, it's none of his business.

It'd been a few days since that encounter.

Now, Logan sat on his beanbag, leaning back against it with a blanket laid across him as he calmly read an article on his phone talking about climate change some species of plants an animals that were put in changer by both the pollution and the heat of the planet. Just as he was about to read about n the bee population and the danger their extinction brings to the planet, he a loud cry, as though someone had been injured. 

Then there was silence.

Without a second thought, Logan quickly threw the blanket off of his lap and pocketed his phone, rushing towards his front door. For a moment, he contemplated calling the police to deal with this, but he realized how idiotic that could be. Logically, it could simply be that Patton had stubbed their toe, or had knocked their shoulder or knee on something.

Even though he knew this logically, his intuition told him otherwise. This time, in his rush he didn't bother putting on shoes, simply slipping on some slippers that were situated by his front door, simply hoping to get to the apartment above his as quickly as possible.

Illogical fear and worry clutched at his chest, and for some reason, the feeling made it hard to breathe, hard to focus on anything else except checking on his neighbor from a floor above. He didn't even understand why he bothered to check on them at all when they'd only met once before, an yet again, before then as well he'd had no reason to check on them as well.

He tried to not think too deep into it, especially not now. 

So he rushed outside his apartment, barely even remembering to grab his keys with him as he quickly stepped to his left to rush to the stairs that would provide a faster way to get to his designated area. It didn't take long at all to get there, but just like the time before, it felt longer than it actually was. Finally, he arrived in front of the apartment and he didn't hesitate to knock, heart beating in his ears as he took a step back. It took longer than the first time, but the door finally opened revealing Patton on the other side once more.

"Oh hi! What are you doing here?" They asked, a nervous lilt finding it's way into their voice as Patton gently rubbed at their upper arm. 

"I heard something coming from this apartment, would you happen to know what it is?" Logan inquired, and only then did he really process what was going on. Here he was, inquiring this person he'd only met once before about a noise he'd heard, for the second time within the span of 7 days. The worst part is, Logan had promised himself to not meddle in their business anymore, and yet here he was.

Well, it was to late to back out now.

"I'm sorry, no- Maybe there's a cat or something in your apartment? I don't know, maybe at this point it's just your mind playing tricks on you" Patton said, clearly being teasing in the last part. 

"I'm rather certain it's not" Logan said disdainfully, starting to close in on himself again as he fleeting looked up and down Patton's form for any injuries. Possibly his upper arm? He kept rubbing it like it hurt. Patton seemed to catch him staring though, and quickly removed their shaking hand from their arm.

"I mean, you never know! We all have a bit of crazy in us-" They joked, and Logan's frown only deepened at that.

"I don't believe-" He started, only to be cut off by Patton.

"I'm just kidding, anyway, thank you for worrying, but-" Then they hesitated for a moment, and their joyful, carefree facade fell for a moment. They glanced behind them, just as they had done the first time the two had spoken "Everything's really fine! I suggest you find where that sound is coming from though, especially if it's bothering you" Patton suggested kindly before smiling at him "Now, I'm so sorry to cut this short but I've got some cleaning to do, but I'd be happy to talk again!" They said, and for some reason they winced as they spoke those words. Logan nodded slowly at them.

"Of course, now I'm aware that I've already said this, but if you ever need help with anything, feel free to pay a visit" He said, and Patton nodded enthusiastically.

"Yeah! I'll make sure to take you up on that offer some time if I'm ever in trouble!" Patton said, smiling at him, although it didn't reach their eyes. It almost never reached their eyes, and although they were clearly talented in the art of faked smiles, it couldn't fool him. Logan didn't point any of this out though.

"Please do, may I visit you some time?" Logan inquired.

"No!" Patton said, and for the first time he saw genuine panic take their features, and Logan jumped at the suddenness and loud tone of voice they used, edged with clear distress. They caught themselves though, quickly covering up for their strong reaction "My apartment is an absolute mess! It'd just be horrible for the both of us if you even stepped foot in here!" Patton played off, chuckling nervously before slowly backing away from the door "Anyways, like I said, I've got some laundry to do, but I hope to talk to you soon!" They said before shutting the door hastily, not even waiting for Logan's response to any of what they'd just thrown at him.

Logan stared at the wooden door for a moment, his frown deepening. This situation was... concerning, and yet he didn't know the course of action to take on this matter. He couldn't go to the police if he had no physical proof of anything, because in the end it'd all be hearsay. He let out a frustrated sigh, running his fingers through his dark hair. He then proceeded to go to fix his tie in force of nervous habit, only to realize he'd taken it off many hours earlier.

He was truly at a lost on what to do.

<s></s>Logan was in his kitchen boiling water when a knock came at his door. 

His eyebrows raised in surprise as he chanced a glance towards where his front door was, wondering if he'd planned to meet up with anyone. He came up blank though, especially considering the fact he only really invited one person to his apartment, and that was his friend Virgil. He knew for a fact it couldn't be him though, since Virgil always triple and quadruple checked that they were still able to meet up, and always inquired if the meet-up time was still the same.

So that left him wondering, who could it be? 

His mind quickly went to Patton, but he quickly wrote it off. They'd clearly not wanted to have any of their affairs meddled with, and had avoided or lied about most things that Logan had inquired about. It was probably someone who was looking for money or asking him to sign a petition. Possibly one of his neighbors locking themselves out of their apartment. 

With this thought in mind, Logan left his kitchen and made his way towards the front door, opening it with a confidence he didn't truly feel. There he was faced with the person that had plagued his thoughts for most of the past 2 weeks. Patton looked up at him, teary-eyed with a red mark in the shape of a hand making itself clear on their right cheek. They hiccuped and spoke up, voice hoarse from crying.

"I-I'm so sorry I-it's just-" 

"No need to apologize, please come inside" Logan said, opening the door wider and stepping to the side, waiting for them to enter. Patton crossed their arms, shoulders tensed up as they shivered, entering the clean apartment with his gaze downcast towards the floor. Logan closed the door behind them and made it a point to not lock the door, letting them know they can exit at any time they wish to do so "Please, go take a seat in the living room while I get you a drink" They said, and Patton simply nodded in response, shuffling towards the living room while Logan prepared himself his coffee and Patton a hot chocolate.

Soon enough, Logan had prepared both of their drinks and was making his way back to the living room with both warm drinks in hand. There he found Patton curled up on the couch, seemingly trying to make themselves as small and insignificant as possible. Logan advanced, careful to make his presence known by making his footsteps louder than truly needed. Patton glanced up at the same moment that Logan held out the mug of hot chocolate. In response, they stared up at him with a confused look, but still took the hot mug.

"Careful, it's a bit hot" Were his only words before he placed his own mug down on the coffee table. He walked to where his bean bag was and picked it up, placing it across from Patton on the opposing side of the coffee table. He then went back and picked up the blanket that he always laid next to his bean bag and walked back over to them, carefully wrapping it around their small form. Then, he detoured around the coffee table once more and carefully sat down on the bean bag, his back facing the TV that was in front of the couch. 

Logan examined Patton's wound from afar, noticing how as more minute ticked by, the red growing more bright and the area becoming more inflamed "Would you like some ice for that?" He inquired, but Patton simply shook their head, now looking at Logan with a confused look.

"Are you not gonna ask me what happened?" They asked, and Logan took a sip from his coffee before looking out towards the window of the living room.

"Didn't I tell you that you could come whenever you needed help with anything?" Logan said, although the question was rhetorical "Look, I promise I'm not playing tricks on you, and you're always welcome to come in. When you're ready to talk about the noise and what happened, you can." Logan said and sent Patton a meaningful smile. "But until then, I guess it must have been the wind, or even just my mind playing tricks on me" 

And if the two held hands through the night and early morning, simply finding comfort in the presence of each other, then who can blame them?

**Author's Note:**

> My hand slipped?
> 
> I actually wanted to make this an animatic, but I suck at animatics so I wrote it instead! I'm actually pretty proud of this, and there m i g h t be a second part to it! =D
> 
> Please comment! I love reading them! 
> 
> Also, inspired by the song Must Have Been The Wind by Alec Benjamin!


End file.
